Many loyalists of Osun Governor Ademola Adeleke and his predecessor, Gboyega Oyetola, were killed on Monday while showing solidarity for their political masters over a supremacy battle.
Even though the two political gladiators were not physically present, their allies and supporters took to council secretariats across the 31 local government areas and the Modakeke Area Office to wrestle over who controls political and administrative affairs in the third tier of government.
As they battled one another with guns, charms, and other dangerous weapons, they screamed the names of their political leaders as a sign of allegiance and loyalty.
Investors King reports that political warriors from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) spilled their blood on the grounds of secretariats, leaving innocent residents in fear and panic.
Adeleke is of the PDP, while Oyetola leads the APC in the state.
Osun was thrown into tension following the controversy surrounding a recent judgment of the Court of Appeal, Akure Division, which reportedly reinstated the sacked chairmen and councillors across the state.
The two political parties interpreted the court verdict differently. For the APC, the appellate court ordered that the sacked chairmen and councillors across the state should return to their offices and complete their tenure. However, the PDP disagreed, arguing that the court only dismissed the appeal and that another High Court judgment, which affirmed the sack of the elected council leaders, was not considered in the ruling.
Oyetola asked the “reinstated chairmen and councillors” to resume at the council secretariats, while Adeleke warned that such action would precipitate a crisis in the state.
Sadly, all hell broke loose on Monday when the sacked chairmen followed through on their threat by storming local council offices in the state and taking over the reins.
A few minutes after they had settled and jubilated within the council premises, PDP members arrived, and clashes erupted simultaneously across multiple council areas.
The two parties mobilized thugs, armed to the teeth, who began shooting at one another.
Residents were no longer at peace as tensions escalated, prompting some parents to withdraw their children from schools near the council areas.
However, security operatives stormed the secretariats and managed to restore normalcy in many councils.
By evening, Adeleke and Oyetola had begun mourning their losses while trading further blame.
Adeleke claimed that five of his supporters were killed by APC thugs, while Oyetola, through his associates, also alleged that PDP thugs killed one of the reinstated chairmen in Ikire, along with others across the state.
Remi Omowaiye, the Executive Director of Project Implementation at the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), was also waylaid and attacked on the Ilesa-Osogbo Expressway. He narrowly escaped death.
When Investors King visited some local councils on Tuesday morning, relative calm had been restored, and people were going about their daily activities.
